Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies

Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies have a lovely peanut butter flavor made even better with the addition of cream cheese. Such a wonderful variation of classic peanut butter cookies!

These may look like pretty standard peanut butter cookies, but one bite will tell you that’s not the case. There’s just a little extra something. Something a little richer. Something more flavorful. Yep, it’s cream cheese!

I tweaked my basic peanut butter cookie recipe, decreasing the butter and adding some cream cheese. I had done a similar thing with chocolate chip cookies a while back, so I was excited to try a similar twist with peanut butter cookies.

And I’m happy to tell you that it was a more than worthwhile experiment. The result is a soft, chewy, irresistible cookie with just a bit bigger, more interesting flavor than the original. If you’re looking for something a little different in the peanut butter cookie category, then give these a try.

I can’t resist adding the traditional crosshatch effect to the tops of the cookies. I see that pattern, and I instantly want one of these! Of course, you can certainly make them without that if you prefer. If you do choose to add the crosshatch effect, try dipping the fork in a little bit of flour to keep it from sticking to the cookie dough.

Either creamy or crunchy peanut butter will work for these cookies. Just use whatever you prefer. I often like to bake with the crunchy variety for the extra, well, crunch it adds.

I really love this twist on a classic cookie. It’s not the kind of change that will hit you over the head. Rather, it’s more likely to garner questions like “What’s different about these?” from cookie eaters. Whether or not someone trying one of these cookies can guess the cream cheese addition, they’ll be smitten with the wonderful flavor and the soft, chewy texture.

More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes

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These sound amazing! Peanut butter cookies are my personal favorite and while I already have several recipes that yield perfectly delightful cookies, I wanted to try something new. I was sitting here thinking about it when out of nowhere I remembered that I had some leftover cream cheese tucked away in the fridge so I added it to the search bar and *BAM!!!!* there it was! Thank you so much for sharing this. I am heading in to the kitchen now to make a batch.

TIP: You can dip the fork into sugar rather than flour when pressing cross hatches into the dough. Just grease the bottom of the fork by pressing it into the dough in the bowl, then dip into the sugar, and then press the cross hatch into the top of the cookie. Continue until all cookies are classically cross hatched with the perfect amount of sugar. You may need to grease the fork as needed if sugar does not stick to the fork. We always rolled the dough into little 1″ balls too rather than dropping from tblsp. It won’t change the flavor of course…But it sure does bring back warm memories of my dear mom…As well as my childhood joy. I wish she was still here and I miss her deeply but I am sooo blessed to have all the wonderful memories she gave me just by being with me and patiently teaching me how to make all of our family favorites, each with just the perfect amount of love.

Hi, Denis. If you’re referring to the sizes of dishers or ice cream scoops, the number on those is representative of how many scoops of that size would fill a quart. I believe the closest to a tablespoon is 60. I use this 1-tablespoon scoop.

I’ve never tried substituting the egg in this recipe, so I can’t give speak from experience. I have read that you can use 2 tablespoons of water plus 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder in place of 1 egg. Again, I’ve not tried that myself.

Look up “flax egg” for a substitute. I think it’s 1tbsp ground flax seed and 1tbsp water, but the ratio could vary. Flax egg is the vegan substitute for eggs. It’s supposed to work really well. I’ve never tried it, but I know lots of vegans that use it. I guess it would come in handy in a pinch when you don’t have access to eggs.

In sweet recipes 1tab of golden syrup substitutes for an egg well. I doesn’t have the same rising effect but it has a good binding effect. (I’ve not yet made this recipe so don’t know if the binding or rising of the egg is the most important. )

Hi, Andrea. You can make the dough a day or two in advance. Just keep it tightly covered in your refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. You may need to let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 or 10 minutes so it’s easier to scoop.

These were nice and soft, but not as peanut buttery as I was hoping. Maybe next time I will decrease the butter and use more peanut butter. I also rolled the balls in regular sugar then did the cross hatch, no fork stickage. I used a tiny scoop (abt 1/2 oz) to make smaller cookies.

I’ve made this recipe a couple of times, using white whole wheat flour and coconut sugar, instead of all-purpose flour and the white and brown sugars. They are a big hit with my office-mates! Thanks for the recipe.

This recipe sounds and looks deliciously amazing! Peanut butter cookies have always been one of our favorites especially growing up. This is definitely something new to try ASAP. I haven’t tried cream cheese with peanut butter before so this will be my first time and fingers crossed, it won’t be the last. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer!

I have made these twice already & they were the best peanut butter cookies I have ever had! I am an amateur baker so I am so excited to find a recipe even I can make to come out melt in your mouth good!! 😋 the only difference I did was used a rubber spatula to work in the dry flour ingredients instead of continuing with the mixer. I was worried working the flour too much would make it flat. 🤷‍♀️
Thank you for the awesome recipe! It was a hit with my family!

Thank God for kitchen scales and I just recently ordered one weeks ago. I love peanut butter & cream cheese vey very much. I’m prepping to make these cookies right now. So glad I stumbled upon this recipe and can’t wait to see the end results!

I made these cookies with my granddaughter. They were the best peanut butter cookies I have ever had. The cream cheese adds just enough creaminess to the texture and the flavor to take these over the top. They were gone in no time flat. I highly recommend this recipe for any peanut butter lover. Thanks for sharing. A definite 5 star cookie.

Hi Jennifer: I love peanut butter cookies and really like the idea of adding cream cheese. Because my husband does not like peanut butter, I usually use almond butter. Do you think I could add half almond butter and half sesame tahini because I like the taste of tahini?

PS: When I saved your recipe to Pinterest, It did not allow me to include “from Bake or Break” It’s very clear when you open the image that the recipe is from you. I hope this is okay.

Hi, Kit. Other butters don’t have quite the same fat content as peanut butter, so there may be some differences in texture and how they spread. Without trying it myself, I don’t know how much they’d be affected, but I think it work okay. Saving a Pin from here should always link back to me, so no worries at all. Thanks for sharing!

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Welcome to BAKEorBREAK, or BoB as we affectionately call it. I’m Jennifer and this is my journal of over a decade of adventures as an amateur baker. The recipes you'll find as you browse through the recipe index tend toward low-effort, high-reward although you'll find some special "worth the effort" treats, too. There's sure to be something delicious for everyone. Happy baking!